The present invention relates to hand-held apparatus for photographically copying a portion of an illuminated image, in general, and to such apparatus for copying a portion of a back-lighted photographic film transparency, in particular.
At the present time there is a fairly large and unmet need for relatively simple, portable and compact apparatus that is capable of expeditiously making a photograph or hard copy of all or a selected portion of an illuminated transparent image. In the medical field, for example, in many instances it is a normal practice to make a multiple image set of X-rays or film transparencies of selected views of a patient's anatomy in order to provide a treating (or consulting) physician with an additional tool for diagnosing the patient's illness. Standard practice in such instances is to provide a single copy of each anatomical view produced by X-ray or other imaging means, for inclusion in the patient's case file.
Typically, a treating physician views 14.times.17 inch transparencies wherein each transparency includes a single X-ray image or multiple smaller images produced either by Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). In many (if not all) instances, the treating physician would like to have a copy of one or two individual images or portions thereof per case that best establishes the diagnosis of pathology (or normalacy) for his own records and for the records of a consulting physician. It is only in rare instances where a physician needs a complete imagery set for his own records. To obtain such individual images today is an unwieldy, time consuming and expensive process, even at a very large medical facility, and is therefore rarely used.
There is a major disadvantage associated with a physician's inability to promptly obtain a copy of selected portions of his or her patient's diagnostic images. These images theoretically belong to the patient, and in a medical facility access to them is controlled by the radiology department. With very large numbers of diagnostic image sets to take care of, it is not uncommon for the radiology department in such a facility to lose or temporarily misplace a substantial number of the diagnostic images placed in its care. Therefore, if a physician is not able to obtain a copy of the pertinent images during the relatively short period of time that he has personal contact with the entire case file, i.e., while he is diagnosing or formally consulting, it is highly unlikely that he will have easy access to those images at some time in the future. The lack of easy and repeated access to a patient's diagnostic images is a fairly common problem in the medical field.
A portable, hand-held system for photographing an illuminated image, such as that on the face of a cathode ray tube (CRT) is presently in existence. This system is sold by Polaroid Corporation of Cambridge, Mass., under their trademark DS-34 Direct Screen Instant Camera. This camera system is designed for oscilloscopes or other apparatus having CRT displays that do not have built-in photographic capability. The camera includes conventional optical and exposure control systems and is provided with a plurality of snap-on hoods, having built-in corrective optics, that both prevent ambient light reflections from reaching the camera lens and make the camera compatible with much of the CRT equipment that is currently available. A major disadvantage of this camera system is its relatively large size, a size that is primarily dictated by its conventional optics and camera hoods. Though portable, this system is too bulky for a user such as a physician to conveniently carry around for any extended period of time.